1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrical connectors and, in particular, to connectors for electrically coupling communication equipment to electrical devices.
2. The Prior State of Related Art
Electrical devices, such as personal computers, laptop computers, portable computers, notebook computers, palmtop computers, cellular telephones, personal information managers (PIM) and personal data assistants (PDA), are becoming increasingly dependant upon their ability to electrically communicate or share information with other electrical devices. To facilitate this electrical communication, a variety of different types of electrical couplers have been developed. In general, these electrical couplers include a plug and a corresponding jack. The jack typically includes an aperture or socket and when the plug is inserted into the jack, an electrical connection is established.
These known electrical couplers are frequently designed for use with devices such as cards that are made in accordance with standards established by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA). These cards, often referred to as PC Cards, can be designed to perform a variety of different functions and a circuit board located within the card provides the necessary circuitry to perform the intended function. For example, a PC card may allow a device to receive and transmit information over telephone lines, or alternatively, the PC card may allow the device to receive and transmit information over a network system such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a myriad of other wired and wireless network architectures.
PC Cards have become increasingly popular in portable computers because the cards are readily interchangeable and assume a small compatible form factor. Additionally, PC cards are very popular because they allow a user to relatively quickly and easily link a computer to a modem and obtain information and data from a remote computer. Thus, users can transmit and receive data from various locations, such as at home, during business meetings, on vacation, while traveling, or from other remote locations.
In general, PC Cards have a thin, elongated structure which is inserted into an opening or slot in the body of a computer. The PC Cards have a connector at one end which is configured to be coupled to the computer and the other end of the card may have a connector configured to be coupled to communication equipment such as a telephone line. Typically, a standard RJ-11 telephone jack is used to connect a telephone line to the PC card. These PC Cards are typically designed to be readily connected or removed from the electrical device.
As electronics become more and more integrated, the dimensions of the PC Cards may be reduced and allow for the combination of multiple PC Cards within a computing device. In FIG. 1, such an arrangement of stacked multiple PC Cards is depicted which can be received into a multiple bay slot within the body of a computer. PCMCIA standards have been defined for various PC card dimensions. The standard establishes a dimension which receives a 68-pin connector for coupling with the host computer. Each individual package maintains the same slot width and depth, but the thickness of each of the card dimensions differs. For example, there are three relatively common standards or types defined within PCMCIA standard. These standards include a Type I, Type II, and Type m with corresponding card thickness of 3.3 mm, 5.0 mm, and 10.5 mm, respectively.
When multiple cards are stacked, such as cards 10 and 12 of FIG. 1, their individual thickness is inadequate for the placement of a modular receiving socket or jack on the exposed face of the card when inserted into the host computer. As such, reduced size connectors are employed which require the coupling of an external separate structure, not shown, commonly known to those of skill in the art as a xe2x80x9cdonglexe2x80x9d which facilitates the physical expansion of a connector dimension from the low-profile connector 14 on the face of the PC card with a network interface cable having, for example, an RJ-11 or RJ-45 plug. Such a dongle is required in the configuration of FIG. 1 for connecting the PC card 10 to, for example, a telephone line, however, if the dongle is lost, misplaced or damaged, the connection to the telephone line cannot be established. Such a requirement of an additional device such as a dongle results in a further undesirable requirement placed upon the user for coupling the host computer via a PC card to a network.
To facilitate the greater height dimension of the connecting plug into PC Cards resident within a host computer, electronic cards such as that depicted in FIG. 2 have proliferated. Electronic cards such as card 20 combine integrated functionality within the higher profile card thereby facilitating the integration of sockets or jacks depicted generally as 22 and 24. Such combination or integrated cards typically result in a Type III form factor thereby occupying the plurality of available slots within the computer host. While integration is generally thought of as being an advantage by having multiple functionality resident within a single structure, such an integration presents a disadvantage in the form of the loss of flexibility and functionality selectability by the user in configuring and assigning the desired functionality to the limited slots within the host computer. One such attempt at increasing the flexibility of an increased width PC card is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,607 issued to Dittmer. The Dittmer patent discloses a PCMCIA card structure, as generally depicted in FIG. 3, which includes a xe2x80x9ccircuitry augmenting and support structurexe2x80x9d 32 which may include electronic circuitry therein. The circuitry augmenting a support structure 32 receives a PCMCIA card 34 of a thinner configuration which is supported by projecting rail portions 36 and corresponding projecting rail portions 38. As depicted in Dittmer, the computer card structure upon receiving PC card 34 into the circuitry augmenting and support structure 32 significantly extends from the host computer resulting in a cumbersome and undesirable protrudance from the host computer form factor.
Thus, because of the cumbersome and undesirable nature of such interface protrudances, it would be desirable to have an improved PC card structure assembly that facilitates flexibility both in configuration of desirable functionality within the available host computer slot and the flexibility for facilitating upgrading or altering of components within the PC card structure.
The present invention has been developed in response to the current state of the art, and in particular, in response to these and other problems and needs that have not been fully or completely solved by currently available interconnects. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a computer card assembly capable of removeable insertion with a host computer that has a receiving slot therein. The computer card assembly may also conform to standards that are recognized in the industry such as the PCMCLA expansion card standard. The computer card assembly provides an environment for the interchange of electronic cards into an electronic card interface tray that, when populated with one or more electronic cards, conforms to the expansion card specification and may be inserted into the expansion slot of the host computer.
The computer card assembly include two or more components, first an electronic card interface tray that includes a shared interface and one or more electronic cards. The electronic card interface tray includes an external shared interface for interconnecting between each of the electronic cards and the external network of service. The electronic card tray, in the preferred embodiment, assumes a generally xe2x80x9cIxe2x80x9d shaped cross-section which includes opposing sidewalls which are physically spaced and structurally suspended by a sidewall separator spanning between the opposing sidewalls. The sidewall separator in conjunction with the opposing sidewalls form, in the preferred embodiment, an upper internal electronic card bay above the sidewall separator and a lower internal electronic card bay below the sidewall separator.
The computer card assembly further includes one or more electronic cards that are inserted into the corresponding card bay(s) formed within the electronic card tray. The electronic cards are sized smaller than the exterior dimensions of the electronic card tray such that they may be received within the electronic card tray and enable the entire assembly to be received within the receiving slot of the host system. The electronic card(s) share the common interface of the shared interface of the electronic card interface tray. Electronic cards may be from a myriad of functional types such as modem, network, communication, etc.
Another related configuration supports the ability to partially populate the electronic card tray with a number of electronic cards that is fewer than the available card bays. Yet other configurations allows for the population of the card tray with non-I/O type cards such as memory expansion cards or coprocessor cards.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.